Federal President Roman Herzog

Roman Herzog, born on April 5, 1934 in Landshut, served as the seventh German Federal President from 1994 to 1999. Before that he was Minister of Culture from 1978 to 1980, Minister of the Interior from 1980 to 1983 and President of the Federal Constitutional Court from 1987 to 1994 . Herzog has been a member of the CDU since 1970.

Important milestones in his life:

1934

On April 5, Roman Herzog was born as the son of an archivist in Landshut/Bavaria.

1953-1957

From 1953 to 1957, Roman Herzog studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In 1957 he passed the first state examination in law.

1958

In 1958 promotion to Dr. legal with Prof. Theodor Maunz in Munich on the topic "Restriction of fundamental rights according to the Basic Law and the European Convention on Human Rights". In August of this year he married Christiane Krauss, from whose marriage two sons emerged.

1958-1964

Roman Herzog becomes a research assistant to Prof. Maunz at the law faculty of the University of Munich. In 1961 he passed the second state law examination.

1964

Habilitation in Munich with Prof. Maunz on the topic "The essential features of the state organization from a legal and developmental point of view".

since 1964

Roman Herzog is co-editor of the "Maunz-Dürig-Herzog" commentary on the Basic Law.

1964/65

Roman Herzog becomes a private lecturer at the University of Munich.

1965-1969

Roman Herzog becomes a professor of constitutional law and politics at the Freie Universität (FU) Berlin.

since 1966

Roman Herzog is co-editor of the "Evangelisches Staatslexikon".

1967/68

In 1967/68, Roman Herzog became dean of the law faculty and a member of the senate of the Free University of Berlin.

1968/69

Roman Herzog is Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Free University of Berlin.

1969-1972

Roman Herzog becomes a professor of state theory and politics at the Speyer University of Administrative Sciences.

1970

Entry into the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

1971-1980

Herzog becomes chairman of the Chamber for Public Responsibility of the Evangelical Church in Germany.

1971/72

In 1971/72, Roman Herzog became rector of the Speyer University of Administrative Sciences.

1973-1978

Roman Herzog becomes State Secretary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate at the Federal Government in Bonn.

1973-1991

Ordinary member of the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).

1978-1980

In 1978, Roman Herzog became Minister for Culture and Sport for the state of Baden-Württemberg. During this time, in February 1980, he voluntarily and anonymously passed the Central Abitur in Latin in order to underline the importance of the subject.

1978-1983

Roman Herzog becomes national chairman of the Protestant working group of the CDU/CSU.

1979-1983

Member of the Federal Executive Committee of the CDU.

1980-1983

Roman Herzog becomes a member of the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg. Minister of the Interior of the State of Baden-Württemberg. The "demonstration fee" will be introduced during this period. Since then, participants in unauthorized demonstrations have been obliged to pay for the police operation. In December 1982, Roman Herzog campaigned for the police to be equipped with rubber projectiles.

1981-1994

Roman Herzog becomes co-editor of the weekly newspaper "Christ und Welt - Rheinischer Merkur".

1983-1987

He is Chairman of the First Senate and Vice President of the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Under the leadership of Roman Herzogs, the Senate lifted, among other things, the ban on demonstrations against the Brokdorf nuclear power plant on the grounds that "the protection of freedom of assembly guaranteed by the constitution for every citizen" should also be maintained "if there are riots by individuals or a minority is to be expected".

1984-1994

Roman Herzog becomes honorary professor at the University of Administrative Sciences Speyer.

1986-1994

Roman Herzog becomes honorary professor at the University of Tübingen.

1987-1994

Roman Herzog eventually becomes President of the Federal Constitutional Court.

1988

Publication of the book "Early States. Origins and Forms of Government".

1990

In the confrontation over the recognition of Poland`s western border, Roman Herzog, as President of the Federal Constitutional Court, confirmed the court`s consistent case law, according to which the German Reich did not collapse in 1945, but reunification did not have to refer to the borders of December 31, 1937. Roman Herzog`s opinion that the borders for all of Germany could only be definitively defined in a peace treaty met with severe criticism from parts of the F.D.P. and SPD. Roman Herzog rules out a "total revision of the Basic Law" after German unity, but declares a "general overhaul" to be a possibility.

1992

During the argument about changing the asylum and immigration law, Roman Herzog said that the citizenship law from 1913 was "totally outdated". Roman Herzog calls naturalization "not a means of integration, but a consequence of successful integration".

1993

Roman Herzog substantiated his ideas for a "general overhaul" of the Basic Law by calling for more powers for the federal states, as well as the restructuring of the financial constitution and the inclusion of referendums in the Basic Law. Roman Herzog criticizes the increasing shifting of political issues to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe and points out the danger that "politics will increasingly be made in Karlsruhe instead of in Bonn".

1994

The CDU federal executive nominates Roman Herzog as a candidate for the office of federal president. On May 23, Roman Herzog is elected the seventh President of the Federal Republic of Germany. In August, Roman Herzog travels to Poland to mark the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. His speech with the "request for forgiveness" at the memorial of the Warsaw Uprising was unanimously praised both in Poland and in Germany. The publication "State and Law in Transition" is published.

1995

Before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Roman Herzog speaks out in favor of the European Monetary Union.

1996

In his speech to the Bundestag commission of inquiry on overcoming the consequences of the SED dictatorship, Roman Herzog spoke out against a "general, undifferentiated amnesty for perpetrators of the SED dictatorship". During the preparations for the German-Czech declaration of reconciliation, Roman Herzog spoke out clearly against German claims to former German eastern territories and called on the expellees to regard the united Germany as their home. Shortly thereafter, Roman Herzog was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford/England. In November, during his state visit to the People`s Republic of China, Roman Herzog campaigned for the discussion about human rights to be "put on a sober basis."

1997

In May, Roman Herzog is awarded the International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen. Together with Czech President Vaclav Havel, Roman Herzog was honored in New York as "European Statesman of the Year 1997".

Roman Herzog arrives in Washington in July for his first official visit to the White House. From August 31 to September 4, Roman Herzog will be the first German head of state to travel to Russia after reunification. However, his scheduled speech to Parliament is cancelled. One of the highlights of Federal President Roman Herzog`s five-day state visit was his speech on Russian television.In his first speech on Russian television, Roman Herzog advocates close cooperation with Germany.

1998 In February 1998, Roman Herzog became the first head of state in the western world to travel to Kyrgyzstan. Germany is the only EU country to have an embassy in Kyrgyzstan. In the same month, Roman Herzog will award an honorary doctorate from the University of Wroclaw (Breslau)/Poland. In April, Herzog was awarded the Leo Baeck Prize by the Central Council of Jews in Germany. In July 1998, Roman Herzog visited the respective minorities in the German-Danish border region together with the Danish Queen Margarethe II. Roman Herzog praises the coexistence of ethnic groups and the majority population as exemplary. In September 1998, Roman Herzog became the first foreign head of state to visit the new President of South Korea, Kim Dae Jung. In October, Roman Herzog was made an honorary citizen of the city of Berlin. In November 1998, Roman Herzog made a state visit to Israel and the autonomous Palestinian territories, through which Roman Herzog wanted to support both bilateral relations with Israel and the Middle East peace process.

1999

In May, Roman Herzog`s last official state visit as Federal President will take him to Lithuania and Latvia. On May 23, Johannes Rau is elected in the second ballot as the successor to Roman Herzog as the new Federal President. In July, Roman Herzog takes over as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the "Brandenburg Gate" Foundation of Bankgesellschaft Berlin. The foundation, established at the end of 1998, is dedicated to promoting projects in the areas of education, science and culture.

1999-2000

Roman Herzog chairs the first European convention to draw up a charter of fundamental rights for the EU.

2000 His wife Christiane dies on June 19th. Roman Herzog is married to Alexandra Freifrau von Berlichingen, née von Vultejus.